Combination-lock.



Patented Sept. 3,' 190|.

No. salma.

W. H. TAYLDR.

CUMBINATION LOCK.

(Application med Apr. 22, 1897.)

(No Model.)

PATENT OFFICE.

WARREN H. TAYLOR, OF FAIRFIELD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE YALE tTOWNE NECTICUT.

MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF STAMFORD, CON- COMBINATION-LOCK..

SEECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 681,838, datedSeptember 3, 1901. Application tiled April 22, 1897. Serial No. 633,320.(No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WARREN H. TAYLOR, a citizen of the United States,residing at Stamford, in the county of Fairfield and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCombination-Locks, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to locks of that type wherein severaltumblers are employed and each tumbler, with its controlling dial, isarranged apart from and operated independently of the others and hasindependent controlling connections with the lockbolt. The dials aregenerally disposed horizontally, but this is immaterial to the operationof the lock, and any arrangement may be employed which might be moreconvenient under the peculiar conditions of the place of use.

Combination-locks have already been made so that the tumblers areautomatically disconcerted with relation to the fence by the movement ofthe bolt. I accomplish this result and also I arrange such disconcertingmechanism so thatit will be actuated whether the bolt be moved after thetumblers have been set, as in the authorized unlocking of the lock, orwhether the bolts movement is simply to a limited extent incident totampering with the lock.V

The device renders it impossible for any one through carelessness oroversight to leave the combination set when opening a receptacle towhich the lock is applied-su ch, for instance, as a post-office box.

A further object is to employ in connection with such features a tumblerwhich has, in addition to the notches which permit sufficient movementof the fence to cause unlocking, additional false notches, which admitthe stump of the fence at any point, and in addition to thus offering anobstacle to an unauthorized attempt at working the combination permitthe aforesaid limited movement sufficient to cause the disconcertingmovement.

A novelty in my construction is that the dials after being actuated soas to set the tumblers at once automatically return to the normalunlocked position, and the tumblers also automatically return to thenormal unlocked position immediately after the bolt has been moved forunlocking or for an attempt to unlock.

My invention consists in novel features of construction, which will behereinafter fully described, andparticularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure I is an outside view of a door orother part to which my lock is applied. Fig. II is an inside view of thesame. Figs. III and IV are sections taken, respectively, on a verticalline through one of the dial-spindles and on a horizontal line throughthe locking-bolt. Fig. V is a perspective view showing the parts of thetumbler and setting mechanisms,

and Figs. V and Vb are perspectives of their springs.

l represents the door or other part to which the lock is applied, and 2represents dials, of which there may be any desired number, and each ofwhich is adapted to be turned by a knob 3 to bring an index 4 intocoincidence with any one of the designations 5 surrounding the dial onthe door 1.

6 represents a knob working in a slot 7 and by means of which the boltis moved.

Referring to Figs. II and III, 8 represents any desired number oftumblers, of which I have selec ted two for purposes of illustration andwhich are loosely confined upon spindles 9 of the dials 2 by nuts l0 andwashers 10a.

l1 represents fences equal in number to the tumblers and all carried byand dogging the movement of the same bolt 12 by means of stumps 13,which enter the gates 14 when the latter have been previously set, andthus permit unlocking movement of said bolt, or else enter false notches15 and permit a movement of the bolt insufficient to unlock the door,but suncient to mislead one in the unauthorized attempt to work thecombination and sufficient to actuate the disconcerting mechanism,presently to be described.

Each dial-spindle 9 has a surrounding box 16, containing a spring 17,fixed at one end 18 to the dial and at the other end 19 to the door l.(See Figs. III and V.) By this means each dial is returned to and heldnormally in ICO gate-disk 26.

unset position when the knob 3 is released. An eccentric projection 2Oin the dial works through an arcuate slot 21 in the door and establishesturning connection in one direction only with the tumbler 8, an arcuateslot 22 running backward from the point of engagement of saidprojection, permitting the dial to be alone returned to normal positionby its spring 17 after setting the tumbler. (See Fig. V.) Each tumbleris comprised of a ratchet-disk 23, Fig. V, having formed on itsperiphery a ratchet 24, into engagement with which a pawl, 24 is pressedby a spring 25, Figs. II and III, for the purpose of holding the tumblerto any position to which it may be set, and a gate-disk 26, Figs. II,III, and V, formed on its periphery with the gate 14 and notches 15,hereinbefore referred to. These disks 23 and 26 are secured togetheradjustably, Figs. Il, III, and V, by means of a screw 27, projectingthrough a slot 28 in the gate-disk with interposed washer 27nd andscrewing at 2S into the ratchet-disk, so that the relative positions ofthe two parts, and consequently the relative positions of the gate anddial, may be altered at will within the limits prescribed by the ends ofthe slot 28. The inner ratchet-disk 23 of the tumbler is formed with aspring-box 29, containing a convolute spring 30, the inner end of whichmakes connection with the boss 3l, projecting from the spindle-bearing9iL in door 1, while the outer end makes connection with the tumbler,and thereby serves to return the tumbler to disconcerted positionwhenever it is not'engaged by the pawl 24. The connection between theouter end of the spring 30 and the tumbler is preferably made with thegate-disk 26 of the tumbler, so that tension may be put upon said springby simply removing the set-screw 27 and rotating said A small screw 32may be set into the gate-disk of the tumbler to enter a loop 32a in theend .of spring 30.

33 is a spring-buffer, and 34 is a projection on the tumbler forarresting the return movement of the tumbler without jar. These partsmay also serve to limit rotation of the tumbler in the other direction.

From so much of the description it will be seen that the tumbler may beset to any position through the medium of the dial-knob 3, and it willbe held in such position by the pawl 24; also, that said dial andtumbler each contain means which enables them to automatically return todisconcerted positions. It therefore becomes simply necessary to providefor automatically releasing pawl 24 by movement of the bolt toaccomplish the primary object of my invention. This is preferably doneby causing the bolt to engage said pawl upon its return movement, and asthe bolt is automatically projected immediately the knob 6 is releasedthe combination will never remain set even long enough for possibleobservation while the door is open.

35 represents the bolt, which is guided at its outer or latch end by anupturned flange 36 and at its inner end bya box 37, in which is locateda projecting spring 3S,said bolt being provided with a reduced shank39,which enters said boX, and said shank being provided with a bore foraccommodating a portion of the spring. To adapt the bolt to trip thepawls 24, said bolt is provided with dogs 40, pivoted at 41 and pressedby springs 42 normally against stops 43 and in position to engage theends of pawls 24. -As the bolt is withdrawn the beveled ends 44 of thedogs cause the latter to ride over the pawls; but on the shootingmovement of the bolt said pawls 24 are tripped. In order that the boltmay snap freely on closing the door, it is provided with anindependently-movable latch 45, having a stem 46 working in a socket 47of the main portion of the bolt,and said latch is pressed normallyoutward by a spring 48, engaging a pin 49, which projects from saidlatch and has a limited movement in a slot 50 of the bolt. The spring 48also serves to press the main portion of the bolt outward by firstforcing the latch-pin to the end of the slot. In order to permit asufficient independent movement of that portion of the bolt whichcarries the trippingdogs, to permit tripping the pawls withoutwithdrawing the latch, as in case of unauthorized attempt to work thecombination, said bolt comprises a carriage 51, which is constructed, asheretofore explained, to receive the projecting pressure of spring 38and the bolt proper, 52, which is channeled, as shown in Fig. III, toreceive the carriage and has a bore 53 to receive a sliding pin 54,carried by the carriage. The bolt proper, 52, carries the fences 11 andhas recesses 55 provided on its under side, in which stops project tolimit the relative movement between it and the carriage. The heads ofpivot-pins 41 conveniently serve as these stops, though stops may bespecially provided for the purpose. By this construction of bolt theseveral functions may be independently performed with obviousadvantages.

Having thus described my invention, the following is what I claim as newtherein and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a combination-lock, the combination of a locking-bolt having aprojecting spring, a tumbler controlling the withdrawal of said bolt,means for turning said tumbler to unlocking position, a spring forreturning said tumbler, a pawl for holding said tumbler to itsadjustment, and a dog carried by the bolt, tripping past the pawl in onedirection but engaging said pawl and tripping it in the other direction;substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In a combination-lock, the combination of locking mechanism, atumbler controlling said locking mechanism and provided with areturn-spring, a pawl for holding said tumbler to its adjustment, meansfor releasing said pawl, and means for turning the tumbler IOO IIO

consisting of a dial having an eccentric proi jection engaging in'a slotin the tumbler, and

a return-spring for said dial to return it to normal position aftersetting the tumbler; substantially as and for t-he purpose set forth.

3. In a combination-lock, the combination of a door or other part towhich the lock is applied, formed with a spindle-bearing, and slotconcentric with said bearing, a dial having a spindle turning in saidslot, a spring-box formed in said dial, a spring in said box engaging atone end the dial, at the other end the door or fixed part, a tumblerhaving a return-spring, and mounted on the spindle, and formed With acurved slot in which the eccentric projection on the dial engages butwhich extends backward from the point of engagement to permit the dialto return to normal position independently, and means under control ofthe locking mechanism for holding the tumbler to its adjustment and forreleasingit by the unlocking movement; substantially as and for thepurpose set forth.

4. The combination ofthe tumbler of a combination-lock formed With aspring-box, a spring located Within said box engaging at one end withthe tumbler and at the other end with a iixed part, and a dial engagingthe tumbler when rotating in one direction only, and having anindependent spring returning it to normal position, substantially as andfor the purpose set forth.

5. In combination with the locking mechanism of a combination-lock, afence carried by the bolt thereof, a tumbler in the path of said fence,havingadisconcerting-spring, and a pawl restraining said tumbler,released by a slight unlocking movement of the bolt, said tumbler havingits periphery formed with notches in addition to the unlocking gate, topermit partial movement of the locking-bolt, to cause release of thepaWl and disconcerting ot' the tumbler upon attempting to retract thebolt, substantially in the manner and for the purpose set forth..

6. In a combination-lock, the combination of the locking mechanism, atumbler controlling said locking mechanism and having a return-spring,and a yielding buffer for arresting movement of the tumbler whenreturned by the spring; substantially as explained.

7. In a combination-lock, the combination of the locking mechanism andan automatically returning or disconcerting tumbler controlling saidlocking mechanism,and comprising two parts, connected together by meansof a slot-and-screw connection, and one of which is formed With aspring-box containing a spring; substantially as and for the purpose setforth.

8. In a dial-lock, the combination of a dial and a tumbler engaged bysaid dial only in the direction for setting, and an automatic returningmeans, independent of the tumbler, whereby the dial, after setting thetumbler, will at once automatically return to its normal position.

9. In a dial-lock, the combination of a dial having independentautomatic returning means, and a tumbler engaged in one direction andset thereby, means for holding the position to which the tumbler may bemoved by the dial, and means carried by the bolt that releases saidholding means when the bolt is moved, whereupon said tumbler Wouldautomatically return to its normal position, substantially as described.

l0. In a combination-lock, the combination of locking mechanism, anautomatically-returning tumbler controlling said locking mechanism,means whereby said tumbler is released by the movementof the bolt, and

an independently-movable latch carried by.

the bolt, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

1l. In a combination-lock, the combination of a self-returning tumbler,and locking mechanism controlled by said tumbler and adapted to releasethe same; said locking mechanism comprising a bolt proper carrying thelatch and the fence and a carriage having a limited independent movementand carrying the means for releasing the tumbler; substantially as andfor the purposes set forth.

WARREN n. TAYLOR.

Witnessesi SCHUYLER MERRITT, GEO. E. WHITE,l

